This Friday November 1st, or Day of the Dead in Guatemala, the municipality of Sumpango celebrated with their famous annual Kite Festival. Thousands of people from all over the country, as well as foreigners, travel to Sumpango on this day to see the magnificent, giant kites that various community groups from Sumpango have been working on for months prior to the event. There is music, food, drinks and dancing on this joyous event, which is the pride and joy of citizens of Sumpango.
Fundraising Tips:
Increase the impact you make by asking your friends and family to support Cultural Survival with you. With social fundraising, it has never been easier to reach your fundraising goals. The best part is that you can personalize your fundraising team page with your own story and message to show others why Cultural Survival is important to you.
On November 1, 2013, Cultural Survival Executive Director Suzanne Benally will speak at the University of Colorado Law School's conference on Free, Prior and Informed Consent: Pathways for a New Millennium.
By Jess Cherofsky (CS STAFF) “Food sovereignty is knowing the species we have on our lands, knowing what kind of seeds to plant in each territory,” said Clemencia Herrera from the Colombian Amazon in the working group on food sovereignty and the World Conference of Indigenous Women, which took place in Lima, Peru, October 28-30, 2013.
By María del Rosario Sul González
Carol Gonzalez Aguilar is the coordinator of Women and Family from Organización de los Pueblos Indígenas de la Amazonía Colombiana (OPIAC) located in the village of Sano in the department of Vaupéz in Colombia. She was a participant observer at the World Conference on Indigenous Women held in Lima, Peru, from 27 to 30 October 2013.
Over two hundred women from Africa, the Arctic, Asia, Latin America, North America, the Pacific, and Russia are gathering in Lima, Peru from October 28th to 30th during the World Conference of Indigenous Women. They are demand the greater prominence of Indigenous women at every level of decision-making and calling upon governments to dedicate funding to attend to the specific needs of Indigenous women.
Watch UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples James Anaya's opening address to conference participants.
Indigenous Women of the World Unite in Lima, Peru
Indigenous women leaders from every continent will join together in Lima, Peru, to demand that States eradicate violence.
On October 5, Asociación Mujb’ ab’l yol celebrated their 15 year anniversary with a special celebration at their Capacity Building Centre in San Mateo, Quetzaltenango. Mujb’ ab’l yol has been a staple in the community radio movement in Guatemala for 15 years, supporting the fight for the democratization of speech in the country.
On October 15, 2013, James Anaya, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, concluded an eight-day trip to Canada. During the trip, Anaya visited several locations, meeting with government officials and First Nations with the intention of examining the human rights of Canada’s Indigenous population. Summarizing the findings of his trip, Anaya had tough words for the Canadian government in a statement published on October 15.